How could you advise a business organisation on the issue of reducing its staff ?

A Company is overstaffed with several employees not skilled in modern business methods. Hence they propose reducing staffs by 25% but potentially employing 3 new skilled staff to improve their skills base. What relevant employment law would they need to consider when engagingnew staffHow could you advise a business organisation on the issue of reducing its staff ?
Before firing %26amp; hiring, I advise that they seriously invesigate their core business. If those they wish to fire are responsible for generating as much worth as those they wish to fire, then its a net loss for the business because of the overhead of the transition.





I have seen a dozen times where ';new blood'; is traded out for ';old blood'; and fundamental expertise or established relationships were lost, and in the short %26amp; long terms it cost the company more than it brought in.





The form of the ';understand the business'; would be a set of SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, timely) metrics that relate the performance of each employee to the bottom line. Then using those metrics, and gathering enough data to have ';reasonable confidence'; I would create a piretti chart that lists employees in descending order of cost to benefit ratio. I would also keep an eye out for ';key operations'; people who dont have as much apparent worth, but like ';the department secretary';, who rules the college more than the college president and brings more function than 10 presidents. If you get rid of a key person like that it can hit you severely.





I would communicate the performance metrics, and a first-season reporting, to the employees, and make the requirements public. If they know there is an axe to avoid they can make my job easier by either improving performance, or firing themselves by getting another job. I would also have them participate in the process of understanding the core business, and in building metrics. That builds consensus, gives you access to their expertise, and gives a showcase for them as an opportunity to show their worth to the company.





If you want legal advice, and what you are doing could cost you a lawsuit (attorneys are $400 per hour) then you should invest the $400 or $1600 ahead of time to avoid punitive judgments. Get a real attorney to talk real business law with you.How could you advise a business organisation on the issue of reducing its staff ?
I would recommend that staff reductions be made starting with the poorest performers. Ideally, there are performance review records which would be available to document their competence, efficiency, and work record as a whole. These are ';neutral criteria'; and should insulate you from any claims of discrimination.





As long as your employment decisions are based on ';business necessity'; rather then ';personalities';, or other subjective factors, you should be on solid ground.





Be sure to identify the poor performers throughout the organization, relieving some from all Departments proportionately.





Develop a ';severance package';, and a Letter of Acceptance to guarantee that you will not be sued later by a disgruntled employee.





The ';severance package'; is above and beyond that normally provided for in the Company Policies or Employee Handbook. The Letter of Acceptance merely indicated that the employee, under no duress and of his/her free will accepts the terms and conditions of severance and waives all claims now and in the future, including any Civil Rights allegations, against the company.





In recruiting the new hires be sure that their qualifications far outweigh those persons that are being let go and that they are ready to step into the breach left by the ';reorganization';.